At some polling places Tuesday in Cole County, there were more poll workers than voters at times.
Voter turnout was a little better than what Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer had predicted, but it was still low. Of 39,529 registered voters in the county, only 3,660 ballots were cast. Of those, 490 were absentee votes.
That adds up to a 9.26 percent voter turnout.
Korsmeyer had predicted a turnout as low as 5-6 percent, expecting many people might stay away from the polls due to fears of COVID-19, which delayed the election that was originally scheduled for April.
"I was pleased to see we came close to 10 percent," Korsmeyer said. "We did have some computer glitches, but nothing very serious. The only thing we had to take out to the polling places were some extra sanitizing wipes."
Workers at Faith Lutheran Church, the polling place for Ward 2, Precinct 2, said in the morning there had been about 15 voters an hour, but that had decreased to 10 voters or fewer per hour in the afternoon.
At about 1 p.m., there had been 104 ballots cast at The Linc, the polling place for Ward 5, Precinct 1. In April 2019's municipal election, there were 3,125 registered voters in the precinct and 452 ballots cast.
As of approximately 2 p.m., there had been 63 ballots cast at Capital City Christian Church, the polling place for Ward 2, Precinct 3. There were 1,626 registered voters in the precinct last April, when 154 ballots were cast.
"Mediocre" is the word Mary Rehagen, a poll worker at Capital City Christian Church, used to describe turnout, with a line in the morning that had never been more than three people.
Helen Lock, a poll worker at The Linc, attributed the low turnout 50/50 to the coronavirus pandemic and the ballot itself. Poll workers at Faith Lutheran were less sure about the virus' role.
Regardless, workers at polling stations were taking precautions for themselves and the public: tape on floors to mark where people could stand in line to maintain social distancing; cleaning tablets, pens or tables after use by each voter; and gloves and masks for workers or voters.
At the Miller Performing Arts Center, the polling place for Ward 2, Precinct 1, Shelby Hood said she came out to vote primarily for the changes to the Jefferson City charter.
"I had already planned on voting, but I went to the protest Monday, and they really homed in on voting," Hood said. "It's even more important to practice what we can, and voting is just an easy step."
Brenda Waters said municipal elections are probably the most important elections for people to participate in.
"If you don't start at the city level and vote for people that represent your interests, it's not good," Waters said. "It starts at the bottom and works its way up. You can't ignore any of the smaller elections like this because you want someone on the council that will reflect your values and your ideas."
At Blair Oaks High School, workers regularly wiped down all screens used, moved voting machines farther apart and made sanitizer available. At about 2 p.m., about 5 percent of the total number of people who could vote there had voted. Poll worker Sheryl Gillmore said the number was average for school board elections. About seven people voted there between 2-3 p.m.
Cynthia Hawk said it was important to her to vote because, "if you have that right, utilize it. You hear a lot of people talk about what our government is doing, and we don't like it. This is our chance for people to hear our voice."
Hawk said she believes council and other government offices should be more diverse.
"I think that there needs to be a multiple of ideas and attitudes and options that we need to have," she said. "And I think as a person of color, I am really tired of people making decisions for me, and so I want to see people that look like me and make decisions because I do believe they understand the struggle that we're going through."
Jessica Brewer said she voted because "local elections are even more important than the larger-scale ones, and if not a lot of people come to vote, then your vote seems to matter even more."
Brewer, a teacher in the Jefferson City School District, said education is important to her. She recently moved to the area and said she's excited about the new high school.
"We're excited to just get to learn more about the school district and this community because that's where our kids are going to go," she said.
News Tribune reporters Phillip Sitter, Emily Cole and Layne Stracener contributed to this article.